Penn State asked for, received a waiver to practice on Election Day
Penn State is one of the numerous schools that will practice on Tuesday despite it being Election Day.
In 2020, the Nittany Lions were preparing to play Maryland just like this year on the first Tuesday in November. At that point in time, the team changed its normal off day from Monday to Tuesday in response to new NCAA legislation. It read in part: “Division I student-athletes will not practice and compete, among other countable athletically related activities, on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1 every year.”
That’s not the case 365 days later.
Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday, citing a pair of unnamed athletic directors, that many FBS teams are on the field today as the Nittany Lions are. That’s because they had waivers approved to do so.
Penn State decided to ask for one after conversations between coaches and players. Originally, the plan was to practice Monday instead of Tuesday again. But, after those talks, things shifted toward trying to keep things normal.
“We talked to our leadership council, and obviously being engaged in our communities is something very important to us,” Penn State coach James Franklin said Tuesday. “Our captains felt like the best thing for us to do would be to keep our schedule the same. Especially when you’re talking about most of our guys were going to be using absentee ballots. They also had the ability, obviously, all morning with the voting centers open at 7 a.m.
“With most of our guys using the absentee ballot, they felt like we wanted to keep our schedule the same and keep our off day Monday and then practice today. So, we were able to get the waiver from the Big Ten. We’ll continue discussing these topics. We understand how important they are.”
The NCAA announced the new legislation two September’s ago. In a news release, it said: “The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee proposed the legislation to provide a day each year dedicated to increasing opportunities for Division I athletes to participate in civic engagement. These include activities such as voting or community service, among others.”
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It was not immediately clear if Maryland was altering its practice schedule. It is a certainty, though, that the conversation nationally will be about whether or not having a waiver system for this creates an unbalanced playing field across the sport.
“Tuesday is a significant day for football,” AFCA executive director Todd Berry told SI.
“Having coached and played, I think it’s a huge competitive disadvantage [to not practice that day]. If everybody is doing it, it’s not that big of a deal, but when some are doing it and others aren’t, it is unfair.”
Each day of drills is crucial for the Nittany Lions as they aim to end a three-game losing streak against the Terrapins on the road. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on FOX Sports One, and Penn State’s routine will be as normal as possible prior to it. It is worth noting that travel delays led the team to get back later on Sunday from Ohio State than expected. But, the off and on days are still the same.
“Obviously, there’s are a few plays and a few games we’d love to have back,” Franklin said. “That doesn’t happen. So, you learn from them, you grow, you be really honest with yourself and your team, and you find a way to get a win this week and build on it from there.
“I think there were enough things last week in that game to build on, but we got to find a way to get a win this week. That’s all that matters.”
